it is a detailed power point presentation which covers the national urban transport policy.

1. National urban transport policy
MEENU SAJEEV

2. BACKGROUND
• The urban population in India is rapidly growing to a great
extend.
• For urban areas to be able to support the required level of
economic activity, they must provide for the easy and
sustainable flow of goods and people.
• Unfortunately, however, such flow of goods and people has
been facing several problem. Following are the some among
them:
Accessing jobs, education, recreation and similar activities is
becoming increasingly time consuming because of the traffic.
The major reason fo this is the explosive growth in the
number of motor vehicles.
The cost of travel, especially for the poor, has increased
considerably.

3. Contd…
Travel in the city has become more risky with accident rates
having gone up from 1.6 lakh in 1981 to over 3.9 lakh in 2001.
Increased use of personal vehicles has led to increased air
pollution
• Unless the above problems are remedied, poor mobility can
become a major dampener to economic growth and cause the
quality of life to deteriorate.
• Then came into a conclusion that there must be a policy
needed to dealing with the growing issues and this policy
should be act as a guide to the State level policies, as the
management of urban areas is with State Governments.

4. Vision
• To recognize that people occupy center-stage in our cities and
all plans would be for their common benefit and well being.
• To make our cities the most livable in the world and enable
them to become the “engines of economic growth” that
power India’s development in the 21st century.
• To allow our cities to evolve into an urban form that is best
suited for the unique geography of their locations and is best
placed to support the main social and economic activities that
take place in the city.

5. Objectives
• Encouraging integrated land use and transport planning in all cities
so that travel distances are minimized and access to all social needs.
• Encourage greater use of public transport and non-motorized modes
by offering Central financial assistance for this purpose.
• Introducing Intelligent Transport Systems for traffic management.
• Addressing concerns of road safety and trauma response.
• Reducing pollution levels through changes in traveling practices,
better enforcement, technological improvements, etc.
• Raising finances, through innovative mechanisms.
• Associating the private sector in activities to make use of its
strengths.
• Taking up pilot projects.

6. Integrated Land Use and
Transport Planning
• Transport planning is intrinsically linked to land use planning and
both need to be developed together in a manner that serves the
entire population and yet minimizes travel needs.
• An integrated master plan needs to internalize the features of
sustainable transport systems.
• In developing such plans, attention should also be paid to channel
the future growth of a city around a preplanned transport network
rather than develop a transport system after uncontrolled sprawl
has taken place.
• Transport planning has not received the extent of attention it should
have in drawing up strategic development and land use plans.
• To enable this, all urban development and planning bodies in the
States would be required to have in house transport planners as well
as representation from transport authorities in their managements.

7. Contd…
• The Government of India would fully support pilot studies in a
few sample cities, of different characteristics and in different
regions of the country.
• As part of this exercise, each city would also be encouraged to
identify potential corridors for future development and then
establish a transport system that would encourage growth
around itself

8. Public Transport
• It is well known that public transport occupies less road space
and causes less pollution per passenger-km than personal
vehicles.
• As such, public transport is a more sustainable form of
transport.
• Therefore, the central government would promote
investments in public transport as well as measures that make
its use more attractive than in the past.
• In order to effectively promote such investments, the Central
Government would provide 50% of the cost of preparing
comprehensive city transport plans and detailed project
reports and offer equity participation and/or viability gap
funding to the extent of 20% of the capital cost of public
transport systems.

9. Contd…
• The Central Government would offer support under the
National Urban Renewal Mission(NURM) for premium service
infrastructure such as improved bus stations and terminals,
improved passenger information systems, use of intelligent
transport systems for monitoring and control, restructuring of
State Transport Corporations.
• Also ensure that the fares charged for public transport should
be fair and reasonable.

10. Priority to non-motorized
transport
• With increasing urban sprawl and rising income levels, non-
motorized transport has lost its earlier importance.
• Non-motorized modes are environmentally friendly and have to be
given their due share in the transport system of a city.
• First of all, the safety concerns of cyclists and pedestrians have to
be addressed by encouraging the construction of segregated rights
of way for bicycles and pedestrians.
• The Central Government would give priority to the construction of
cycle tracks and pedestrian paths in all cities, under the National
Urban Renewal Mission (NURM), to enhance safety and thereby
enhance use of non-motorized modes.
• . Cities would also be encouraged to explore the possibility of a
public bicycle program, where people can rent a bicycle for use in
specially designated areas.

11. Financing
• The Central Government would offer financial support either
in the form of equity or one time viability gap financing after
evaluating various parameters such as:
 Extent of resources mobilized by the State government
through exploitation of its land resources.
 Extent of resources likely from private participation.
Institutional mechanisms set up by the State government to
ensure a well coordinated public transport system.
Willingness to divert funds from projects that add to road
capacity towards public transit systems.
Initiatives taken to promote non-motorized transport and
improve safe access to public transport.
 Willingness to involve the private sector in operations under
the overall supervision and coordination of a public agency

12. Contd…
• The basic principle in financing such public transport systems
would be that the government should provide the
infrastructure but the users (direct and indirect beneficiaries
within the city) must pay for the operating costs and the
rolling stock.
• The Central government’s capital support would take the form
of equity participation or one time viability gap funding and
would be subject to a ceiling of 20% of the capital cost of the
project.
• Preference will be given to those who are able to demonstrate
additional resources for the project through dedicated taxes
and innovative financing methods.

13. Parking
• Land is valuable in all urban areas.
• Parking places occupy large portions of such land.
• This fact should be recognized in determining the principles for
allocation of parking space.
• Levy of a high parking fee, that truly represents the value of the land
occupied, should be used as a means to make the use of public
transport more attractive.
• Preference in the allocation of parking space for public transport
vehicles and non-motorized modes would go a long way in
encouraging the use of sustainable transport systems.
• Proposals for parking complexes would also be given priority under
the National Urban Renewal Mission.
• Provisions would also be made in the appropriate legislation to
prevent the use of the right of way on road systems for parking
purposes.

14. Freight traffic
• As economic activities in cities expand and city population
grows, a substantial amount of freight traffic would be
generated.
• Cities would be encouraged to build by-passes, through
innovative and viable public – private partnerships.
• Similarly, facilities for the parking of freight vehicles outside
city limits, such as truck terminals, would also be encouraged
through public-private partnerships.
• Proposals for such facilities would be considered under the
National Urban Renewal Mission.

15. Legal and Administrative
Issues
• The current structure of governance for the transport sector is not
equipped to deal with the problems of urban transport.
• These structures were put in place well before the problems of
urban transport began to surface in India and hence do not provide
for the right co-ordination mechanisms to deal with urban transport.
• The Central Government will, therefore, recommend the setting up
of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities (UMTA’s) in all million
plus cities, to facilitate more co-ordinated planning and
implementation of urban transport programs and projects and an
integrated management of urban transport systems.
• The Central Government would also encourage the setting up of
professional bodies that have the capacity to make scientific
assessment of the demand on various routes and contract services
that can be properly monitored.
• Model legislation would be drafted for cities to consider and adopt,
with such modifications as may be required to suit city specific
requirements.

16. Need for Public Awareness and
Cooperation
• Urban transport policies can not succeed without the fullest co-
operation of all the city residents.
• Such cooperation can be best secured if the objective of any
initiative is made clearly known to them.
• It is, therefore, necessary to launch intensive awareness campaigns
that educate people on the ill effects of the growing transport
problems in urban areas especially on their health and well being.
• The campaigns would seek their support for initiatives like greater
use of public transport and non-motorized vehicles, the proper
maintenance of their vehicles, safer driving practices, etc.
• Such campaigns would also encourage individuals, families and
communities to adopt “Green Travel Habits” that would make travel
less polluting and damaging.
• The Central Government would take up a major awareness
campaign in this regard and seek the support of the State
Government in its implementation.

17. Pilot Projects
• In order to demonstrate the potential benefits from the policy
measures suggested herein, the Central Government would
take up pilot projects in a sample set of cities drawn from
different regions and different city types so that tested models
of best practices can be established for replication in other
cities.